Zen and the delicate art of demitasse coffee

Shingo Naganuma isn’t exaggerating when he compares the atmosphere of his coffee shop, Nejimakigumo, to a temple. Open the menu here and you’ll find a list of rules, ranging from prohibitions (no smoking, no pets) to a requirement that laptop users buy extra drinks if they plan on occupying one of the cafe’s dozen seats for more than an hour.

You don’t have to take a vow of silence to fit in here, but you may want to turn your conversation down a few notches, at least.

“If you want to enjoy quality time by yourself, and really appreciate coffee, there are lots of things that can get in the way,” Naganuma says. “If the shop was bigger, I wouldn’t need all these rules.”